Splish splash

PETAWAWA – After much anticipation, Petawawa’s splash pad is open for business.

It didn’t take long for parents and children to realize the newest addition to the Petawawa Civic Centre Park was up and running. Dozens of children played in the background as dignitaries gathered Friday afternoon to mark the official opening of the water feature, which covers 3,500 square feet within the Civitan Playland.

The splash pad will serve as a legacy project for the Petawawa Rotary Club, which contributed $50,000 towards the nearly $250,000 price tag. Other contributors were the Petawawa Civic Centre fundraising committee with $80,000, the Town of Petawawa, $75,000 and the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), an agency of the Government of Ontario, $45,000.

Kelly Williams, the town’s parks and recreation manager, explained he was approached by Ed Chow in October 2012 about the possibility of the Rotary Club donating to a community project. After reviewing a list of options, both agreed a splash pad was the way to go. Williams thanked all of the financial contributors, especially the OTF for its grant as it was the final piece of the puzzle to help make the project a reality.

Petawawa Mayor Bob Sweet acknowledged that although the completion of the splash pad was slightly behind schedule, it was important for the town to ensure the funding was in place before starting.

“Maybe we could have done it for less, but this is a top drawer facility,” the mayor said. “This will be here for many years to come for the residents of the town to enjoy.”

He credited the parks and recreation department for its work on the project, particularly the added innovation of the state-of-the-art capture and repurpose system that will now redirect water used at the splash pad during the day to irrigate the sports fields at night.

Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MPP John Yakabuski thanked the OTF for seeing the value in the project and providing funding. He noted this is the biggest splash pad he has seen, but said it is fitting as Petawawa is a growing community.

“I think we can see and hear that this was a good investment,” Yakabuski said, looking at the children trying all of the aspects of the splash pad. “I think the benefits are obvious, with everyone running and jumping and playing and the socialization benefits are tremendous.”